Andrew Lake
27 Jan 2022
Compliance & Qualifications
There is always some questions around TCM qualifications whether that’s attendance requirements levels of qualifications or when applying, varying and or transferring a permit. Below we try to answer some of these questions.
A requirement of an Environmental Permit is to have present on site during operations an TCM.
1.1.1 The operator shall manage and operate the activities:
(a) in accordance with a written management system that identifies and
minimises risks of pollution, including those arising from operations,
maintenance, accidents, incidents, non-conformances, closure and
those drawn to the attention of the operator as a result of complaints;
and
(b) using sufficient competent persons and resources.
To fulfil the above you must;
• the legal operator of the facility
• considered to be a competent operator by the Environment Agency
If you operate a waste activity you also need to:
• have appropriately qualified managers for your waste activity who are members of a government-approved technical competency scheme
• keep records of your operating hours
• have your manager be on site in person for a specified amount of time a week
The minimum require the TCM has to be on site is for 20% of the operational hours. For example if your site operates for 40 hours a week then a TCM will need to be on site for 8 hours (1 day).
If your site operates 24/7 or longer shifts than the above example it still needs to be a minimum of 20% of the operational hours unless otherwise agreed in writing with the EA.
CIWM (WAMITAB) and Permit Applications
When applying for a new permit the requirement for the appropriate CIWM (WAMITAB) qualification is apart of the permit application process.
New activity applications
If the application is for a new permitted activity then for the application process you do not need to achieve the qualification but you must be registered on the course and provide this registration number as apart of your application pack to the EA and sometimes a letter from your CIWM (WAMITAB) training centre.
The EA has 3 stages of permit application ‘Duly Making’ and ‘Determination’. Providing your training number enables your application to be ‘Duly Made’ otherwise you application and Fee will be returned to you.
However you must achieve your full qualification within the first 12 months of the permit being determined and issued. There are two ways to achieve this grace period, this is to take an EPOC qualification with CIWM and is submitted to the EA OR you must complete 4 of your ‘Key Modules' and submit evidence of this to the EA (This is not applicable to Landfills).
Permit Transfers
Some times a permit will be transferred from one legal entity to another. This is a transfer application.
As this is an existing waste activity the submission of an appropriate CIWM (WAMITAB) qualification of the company/person receiving the permit must be submitted with this type of application. If not it will not be ‘Duly Made’ nor will the application be progressed by the EA it shall be returned to the applicants. There is no grace period offered in this process.
Compliance
TCM attendance on site is related to the operators compliance score. The more non-compliant is deemed by the EA the more they require the TCM to be on site.
Holiday Cover
If your TCM goes on holiday and is unable to fulfill the above requirement you must higher in an TCM to provide you this service, otherwise you are in breach of permit. Please see Environment Agency (EA) guidance for further information (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/legal-operator-and-competence-requirements-environmental-permits ).
In summary if you have an active waste permit (Standard rules, bespoke waste or Installation) you are required whilst operational to have an TCM on site for a minimum of 20 % of operational hours unless you have agreed otherwise with the EA.
Here at Umbrella Environmental we provide short, medium and long term TCM cover to ensure you are compliant with your permit. We can also facilitate supplying the appropriate CIWM (WAMITAB) qualification to ensure your permit transfer can progress beyond ‘Duly Making’ on to the determination stage.